Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨‍💻? Find out how to check here.

Forum Discussion

thelwang's avatar
thelwang
Helpful | Level 7
4 years ago
Solved

Dropbox iOS app taking up 1.3GB of local app data storage but no offline files?

 

As you can see in the screenshot, the Dropbox iOS app is taking up 1.37GB of space in app storage alone. But I have no offline files.

Things I've done: 

  • Made sure that I have ZERO files marked as "Make available offline". So no files are being explicitly stored.
  • Explored the settings menu deeply. No where can I find a way to clear the local cache or set a limit.
  • Searched this forum and the best solution I found, which I know will work, is to completely the delete the app, re-install it, and log in again. But that's such a hack.

Here's a screenshot where the app even says it has no cached files...

What's going on? What's in this mysterious 1.37GB of stored data?

Also, is deleting the app completely and re-installing it still the only option to resolve this?  If that's still my only option this situation is a bit absurd.  Is there local app data just constantly growing no matter what? Also for reference I use Camera Uploads regularly and I'm pretty I had to do the same thing about a year ago to clear up space. So all this junk filling up my phone accumulated in a year or so.

Cheers

 

 

 

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    3 years ago

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention, andherand

     

    From what I understand, it’s the Dropbox cache that keeps taking up space from your device, even after the upload is complete, correct? 

     

    In this case, here’s what I’d like you to try as a test; clear the app’s cache via the app settings (just make sure there are no files uploading before that), uninstall the Dropbox app, restart your device and then, reinstall Dropbox. 

     

    After that, please try to upload a few files to the app and let me know if you’re still having the same issue.

18 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • YeeM's avatar
    YeeM
    Explorer | Level 4
    4 years ago
    Hello! I’m on 306.2, iOS 16.0.2, and I followed all steps listed so far on this thread and a few others.
    I really appreciate you reaching out
    -YeeM
  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    4 years ago

    Hi YeeM, can you also send me a few screenshots of your mobile's settings, and how Dropbox looks there, in regards to the Documents and data? 

  • andherand's avatar
    andherand
    New member | Level 2
    3 years ago
    I have noticed the size growing when uploading large files. It is almost like Dropbox is copying the file to a new location on the phone when transferring the file. Then when the transfer is complete the app never removes the transferred file from a temporary location adding wasted space to our devices.

    I am using Dropbox version 310.3.2 iOS version 16.2 (20C65).
  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention, andherand

     

    From what I understand, it’s the Dropbox cache that keeps taking up space from your device, even after the upload is complete, correct? 

     

    In this case, here’s what I’d like you to try as a test; clear the app’s cache via the app settings (just make sure there are no files uploading before that), uninstall the Dropbox app, restart your device and then, reinstall Dropbox. 

     

    After that, please try to upload a few files to the app and let me know if you’re still having the same issue.

  • andherand's avatar
    andherand
    New member | Level 2
    3 years ago
    That worked. I got back my 2 gb of wasted space. thank you
  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Happy to hear that! If you need any further help, feel free to ping me.

  • Josh62's avatar
    Josh62
    New member | Level 2
    2 years ago
    Hi, just read this thread from 2 years ago.

    It’s now 2024 and the exact same problem has been identified as 2 years ago. Cache clearance does nothing, the terrible solution of having to completely delete and reinstall the application does work. But surely this needs a fix. I am running the most up to date IOS and App version.

    Could you please let me know if a proper solution has been generated yet/if this has been taken on board as an issue and not just a “delete and reinstall” solution?

    Cheers.
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi Josh62, if you're still experiencing this issue, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate this in more detail. 

About Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!